There is always that youngster in the audience who was dragged there by a grandparent. The child stiffly in the seat, arms folded, fully prepared to not enjoy a thing.

Billy McGuigan, who takes on the character of the late Buddy Holly in "Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience," likes to find that youngster in the audience and watch that reaction change until the young person is enjoying the music and sharing the experience with Grandma or Grandpa by the end of the show.

Buddy Holly was a 22-year-old musician in the 1950s who had an 18-month career in which he recorded about 85 songs and influenced the music of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and Elvis Costello.

"His music was truly innovative," McGuigan said. "It still has kind of an edge to it. You can see why it influenced so many groups."

McGuigan brings his "Rave On: The Buddy Holly Experience" to the Rialto Theater Center in Loveland on Saturday.

McGuigan said the show doesn't pander to an older audience or take on that cheesy angle that many tribute shows incorporate.

And he doesn't like to use the word "tribute" because he says the show is more than that. It is funny, authentic and has that same edge that was so popular when Buddy Holly was alive.

"You would think the audience would be all older people," McGuigan said, "but there has been a resurgence of younger people coming to the show."

Buddy Holly's music wasn't written for an older crowd. It was sharp and edgy and rock 'n' roll.

Which is how "The Buddy Holly Experience" is now. McGuigan dons his glasses, 1950s suit and guitar and uses comedy and great music to create a polished, energetic and exciting show with the other musicians.

Holly wrote many of his own songs during a time when other artists were "cookie-cutter," McGuigan said.

"The fact that he died in a plane crash, that adds some mystique when you die young," McGuigan said. "He had magic around him that the British groups caught onto and kept the ball rolling."

McGuigan was cast in the play "The Buddy Holly Story" in 2002 in Omaha, Neb., where he lives. The show had a waiting list of 1,500, and when the show closed, McGuigan decided he wanted to continue Holly's story. McGuigan wrote an outline for a show and started performing with a group at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Omaha.

He came up with a set list of songs and filled in breaks with comedy.

"After a few years we got serious with it," McGuigan said. "We gave it a more theatrical overhaul, and in 2008, we started touring across the country. It all started by accident."

The 10-member entourage spends about eight months on the road now. They do about 40 songs in a show, and 30 of those are Holly's music.

McGuigan loves hits such as "That'll be the Day" and "Everyday" but also likes exploring Holly's lesser-known work such as "Crying Waiting Hoping" and "Modern Don Juan."

"When I started I was 27," McGuigan said. "I said by the time I'm 30, I'll be done. You can't have some 30-year-old playing a 22-year-old. But now I'm 39 and still doing it."

He said good genes keep him looking as if he's in his 20s.

"My career as Buddy Holly is longer than Buddy's career as Buddy Holly," he said.

McGuigan has encountered people in the Midwest who have vivid memories of Buddy Holly's final show in Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 2, 1959, with Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. The musicians died in a plane crash the next day.

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